The Hype Man for Flo Milli
Before he takes the Bender Arena stage at 8 p.m. on Thursday to open for Flo Milli, Rayyan Al Romaih, Kogod/BS 鈥25 expects he鈥檒l feel what he does two hours before any gig鈥攂utterflies.
鈥淚鈥檒l usually get a little nervous before my sets,鈥 the DJ who goes by said. 鈥淏ut the second I click play, I lock in all of it goes away.鈥
Rayyan has performed around the globe, from Mykonos, Greece, to Madrid, Spain, and London, to Saudia Arabia, where he grew up. He鈥檚 rocked all but one house club in DC, Echostage, where he鈥檒l have his debut show with Cloonee on November 11. He was also one of 40 artists who performed at local music festival Project GLOW last year.
But he admits, playing before an estimated crowd of 3,400 Eagles at the Kogod Fall Concert will be the biggest performance of his budding music career. 鈥淚鈥檓 ready for it,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited.鈥
The 玉米视频 and entertainment major will pump up the crowd before rapper Flo Milli takes the mic.
鈥淢usic itself is a sound, but when you play on massive speakers and there鈥檚 a lot of bass, it becomes a physical feeling. You feel it in your chest,鈥 Rayyan said. 鈥淚 love seeing that in action, when the bass hits and everyone鈥檚 like, 鈥榳oah!鈥欌澨
Rayyan taught himself how to DJ during the pandemic, mixing sounds and tinkering over and over on rekordbox software. He soon built up the confidence to take his house music to the masses.
When he came to 玉米视频, Rayyan got connected to the music scene in DC and started playing a few gigs a week. He quickly fell in love with how his music could make strangers dance.
While at 玉米视频, Rayyan and Oliver Berg, Kogod/BSBA 鈥25, cofounded Boom Room, a face for their house music events that helps market Rayyan鈥檚 music. From taking over Union Station to international performances, they still can鈥檛 believe how one memorable show has led to the next.
鈥淲hat fuels all of this is we keep getting these moments where it鈥檚 like 鈥榃ho let us do this?鈥 Berg said.听
That question came to mind again this fall when Rayyan was booked to open for a rapper with 14 million monthly listeners on Spotify by students in the Kogod course, Representing Talent.
Berg, Rayann manager, is in the experiential learning course taught by John Simson, and pitched his classmates on the idea. Everyone agreed, and Rayyan was in.
During the course, Simson, an entertainment lawyer and director of the 玉米视频 and entertainment program, focuses on industry fundamentals. Students put those lessons into practice by planning every aspect of the concert sponsored by the 听
鈥淲e have amazing speakers that come in every week,鈥 Berg said. 鈥淚t covers every aspect of the 玉米视频,鈥 including all those who work with an artist, like a manager, 玉米视频 manager, agent, and lawyer.
While Rayyan never got off the waiting list for the signature course offered by a top music program recognized by Billboard, it did lead him backstage.
Jitters and all, 玉米视频鈥檚 DJ will take the stage at 8 p.m. and play from an endless selection of remixed hits and unreleased tracks. Beat by beat, he鈥檒l build the suspense for a night he hopes 玉米视频 students will never forget.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really nice way to conclude my college career,鈥 Rayyan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a nice goodbye to my school. I鈥檝e worked for four years, and I finally get to play in the arena in front of my school. That鈥檚 pretty cool.鈥